# Davidoff, "A First Class Experience"



## tomtytgat (Mar 28, 2016)

Hello everyone

I'm just a regular smoker and have only smoked a cigar once in my life.
Recently, I have found two boxes of Davidoff, A First Class Experience cigars in my closet.

I was curious and went on to look it up on the internet, but couldn't find any information about it except for one site, which told me that it was worth 30.000 Yen, or 4.000 euro's. I'll put the source at the end of this post.

Is there someone who can give me some informations on the cigars, wether they really are that expensive?

source: *https://www.fasola-shop.com/en/products/DVDF-FIRST-CLASS-EXP-*

Thanks in advance


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## WinsorHumidors (Feb 16, 2016)

tomtytgat said:


> Hello everyone
> Recently, I have found two boxes of Davidoff, A First Class Experience cigars in my closet.


Do you have an idea of how long they have been in your closet without being properly humidified?

Dry cigars can be brought back to life ... just take a look at the first sentence in this article!!! "What to do if your cigars are dry".

Yes, I'm aware that this did not actually answer the question but it would be the first step in trying to sell them at their fair market value.

CTBlankenship


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## Oldmso54 (Jul 31, 2010)

Seems like these were/are only offered at international airports in their duty free shops and/or to customers who flew first class - hence the name.

One site listed the following info on them: "Davidoff «A First Class Experience» Robusto Tubos

The Davidoff «A First Class Experience» Robusto Tubos product is exclusively available on international airlines. The specially designed tubes have been carefully crafted and come with a special catch mechanism on the tube, to ensure that the cigars remain in a correct humidified environment for at least three months. The blend of the Robusto shape belongs to the Davidoff Grand Cru family and is a rich, full-bodied blend of different matured tobaccos.

The product comes in 5's in a wooden box. The cigar size is L 12.7cm, 5"; Ø 2,0 cm, Ring Gauge 50."

Other sites say they came *8 to a box*. Either way looks like a pretty good score. Don't know what they are worth but they do seem pretty exclusive and Davidoff's are expensive, so ...


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## Bird-Dog (Oct 16, 2009)

Those are tubed cigars, so they might be okay even without having been stored in a humidor. Then again, the chances are greater that they're ruined. Depends on the seals and the amount of time they've been sitting.

It would seem those were sold only through airline 1st-class in-flight shopping, and perhaps some airport Duty Free shops. But, I think your currency conversion is off. 30,000 JPY equals about 236 EUR, or 265 USD. That's not out of line for a high-end box of cigars such as Davidoff.

That said, they have no re-sale value at this point due to questionable storage. Plus, even though the brand is highly regarded, that particular cigar is not well known or highly sought after. Smoke 'em or toss 'em. But do not bother trying to sell them.

EDIT: @Oldmso54 beat me to it. Good Googling (I wonder why the OP couldn't have found that same info just as easily?)


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## tomtytgat (Mar 28, 2016)

WinsorHumidors said:


> Do you have an idea of how long they have been in your closet without being properly humidified?
> 
> Dry cigars can be brought back to life ... just take a look at the first sentence in this article!!! "What to do if your cigars are dry".
> 
> ...


The box is sealed and has a warranty seal which I'm not going to break out of fear of reducing the price. I have literally no idea how long they've been here though.


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## UBC03 (Nov 18, 2015)

To back up @curmudgeonista tell it like it is style. It would be hard to get anyone to spend any cash, let alone premium prices, on something they have no idea if they can smoke or resell.


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## tomtytgat (Mar 28, 2016)

curmudgeonista said:


> But, I think your currency conversion is off. 30,000 JPY equals about 236 EUR, or 265 USD.


Hey, I mentioned it wrong, it's not 30 000 yen it's 30 000 Chinese Yuan, which comes down to 4000 Euro's. About the googling and OP not finding stuff, I have no knowledge at all if it's to cigars, and didn't really find anything of use.


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## Bird-Dog (Oct 16, 2009)

tomtytgat said:


> Hey, I mentioned it wrong, it's not 30 000 yen it's 30 000 Chinese Yuan, which comes down to 4000 Euro's. About the googling and OP not finding stuff, I have no knowledge at all if it's to cigars, and didn't really find anything of use.


4000 Euros? That's absurd. Must have been aimed at _nouveau riche_ flyers who wanted to be able to tell their friends they smoke $500 cigars (photo shows 8 to the box).


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## MyFatherFan (Feb 24, 2016)

I'm still stuck on how something randomly appears in your closet? I don't see 1 of these boxes, let alone 2 of them just ending up in a closet with that price tag.

If anything you have a good talking piece on your hands, post some pics of the box when you can. I'd also reach out to Davidoff to see if they can offer any information to you on what you have in your possession.


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## php007 (Sep 25, 2007)

Fist off Welcome.


If you do not know how to use Google, how did you find this site?
Where did you find this outrageous prices?
Please understand that you can not gauge the price from China unless you live in China and if it's only available in China. These are available world wide.
If anything there might be some value in the packaging, but that's about it.
The cigars are useless at this point, I would be surprised if they weren't cracked or split. Keep in mind that the Davidoff Grand Cru was and is a mild cigar.
Even at 10 cigars per box, current price for 10 Grand Cru No.3 is $140. x 2 =$280


Please understand I know that brand extremely well. I have been smoking Davidoff's entire line for the last 20 years and have had the pleasure of touring the factory in Dominican Republic.


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## tomp (Dec 13, 2015)

The specially designed tubes have been carefully crafted and come with a special catch mechanism on the tube, to ensure that the cigars remain in a correct humidified environment for at least three months.

A box stored in a similar manner sold for a little over $100 on ebay. Cigars are from 05-06


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## Bird-Dog (Oct 16, 2009)

php007 said:


> If you do not know how to use Google, how did you find this site?


Google got themselves banned in China several years ago. I use Bing or other search engines when I'm there on business (several times a year).

Doesn't change the gist of your fundamental question, but a guy from there might not even know what Google is.


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## WABOOM (Oct 15, 2015)

Hi Santa


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## tomtytgat (Mar 28, 2016)

Here you go, one of the boxes, in case you didn't believe me.


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## tomtytgat (Mar 28, 2016)

I'm not from China, and I do know how to use google.
I have also contacted Davidoff in my region and they were able to tell me that the only place where they sell these cigars are in the Davidoff store in Japan.

Edit: I already knew everything you guys posted, about the sizes of the cigars and stuff, because it's written on the back of the box.


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## tomp (Dec 13, 2015)

you should crack one open. May be worth a decent amount if you can show they are in decent shape.


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## socalocmatt (Dec 22, 2010)

So, your question is are they really that valuable (¥30,000)? 

The answer is: No.

Why? Well, if you look at the other items from the source you posted, the prices on other cigars are WAY out of line. Take some of these for exampe:

Davidoff Special R: ¥9,600 ($1487.67 US)
Davidoff Mini Cigarillos: ¥3,300 ($511.48 US)

If you look at every other price for cigars on there then you will see that the source you are using to price these at is extremely over inflated.


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## UBC03 (Nov 18, 2015)

tomtytgat said:


> I'm not from China, and I do know how to use google.
> I have also contacted Davidoff in my region and they were able to tell me that the only place where they sell these cigars are in the Davidoff store in Japan.
> 
> Edit: I already knew everything you guys posted, about the sizes of the cigars and stuff, because it's written on the back of the box.


No need to get upset. .glad Davidoff could shine a little light for you. .the guys here along with myself just gave you our opinion and tried to assist you to the best of our ability ,from the information you gave us. Cigars that haven't been kept in the proper environment are a very hard sell as smokeable product. Which is where you would receive the best prices. You could have a 10,000$ bottle of wine. If you removed the cork ten years ago, all you're gonna get is what the empty bottle is worth. Sorry


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## tomp (Dec 13, 2015)

But maybe his closet is a perfect 65% RH!!!


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## Bird-Dog (Oct 16, 2009)

tomtytgat said:


> I'm not from China, and I do know how to use google.
> I have also contacted Davidoff in my region and they were able to tell me that the only place where they sell these cigars are in the Davidoff store in Japan.
> 
> Edit: I already knew everything you guys posted, about the sizes of the cigars and stuff, because it's written on the back of the box.


Sorry! I guess we didn't say what you wanted to hear!


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## tomtytgat (Mar 28, 2016)

I'm not upset at all. I never bought these boxes (for as far as I know), and I never really expected it to be worth anything either. It would've been nice if they really were €4000 a box, but even if you don't know anything about cigars it's still a little bit unbelievable.

I do appreciate all the comments and help from you guys and I'm probably going to open one and take a look at the state they're in.


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## UBC03 (Nov 18, 2015)

Couldn't hurt. .they may still have "collector" value. Rare boxes go for decent money on auction sites. I'm sure even if the cigars are shot the tubes and boxes have some sort of value to collectors.


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## tomtytgat (Mar 28, 2016)

How do I know wether they are still "good" or not?


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## Oldmso54 (Jul 31, 2010)

1 - check to see if there are any spots (white) on the cigar = you are checking for mold
2 - check to see if the wrapper is intact, i.e. no cracks, breaks, tears, flakes
3 - check to see how soft or firm they are, i.e. GENTLY give a light squeeze with your thumb and forefinger in a couple different places on the cigar = they shouldn't feel hard as a rock

4 - if no issues with 1. - 3. then the true test is to smoke one. But if you have no reference point for what it should taste like then the smoke test won't work.

That's just a quick, basic, minimal "test" to see if they are good or not.


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## tomp (Dec 13, 2015)

if you want to send me one I will smoke and report back quickly!!!


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## tomtytgat (Mar 28, 2016)

No spots, wrapper is intact I think , I'll add a picture later so you can see for yourself, but it does feel kinda hard, but not rock hard.
I do indeed have no idea how it should taste, so not going to smoke it just yet.


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## tomp (Dec 13, 2015)

That looks decent.


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## Dentedcan (Jan 15, 2016)

Doesn't look bad at all. I still wouldn't know the value but better looking than I would have expected from the closet.


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## Oldmso54 (Jul 31, 2010)

From the picture it looks OK. I'd smoke it and put the rest of them in a properly humidified container.

I know everyone doesn't agree with me but I happen to think that cigars are a bit more resilient that some folks give them credit for. After all they are dead, dried & cured leaves rolled up ??. That's not to say that proper storage isn't important = IT IS!! But I wouldn't necessarily write them off without so much as a "good ole college try" ...


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## tomp (Dec 13, 2015)

Oldmso54 said:


> From the picture it looks OK. I'd smoke it and put the rest of them in a properly humidified container.
> 
> I know everyone doesn't agree with me but I happen to think that cigars are a bit more resilient that some folks give them credit for. After all they are dead, dried & cured leaves rolled up ??. That's not to say that proper storage isn't important = IT IS!! But I wouldn't necessarily write them off without so much as a "good ole college try" ...


I agree 1000 percent. You can actually see the wrappers still have some sheen on em


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## tomtytgat (Mar 28, 2016)

What do you suggest to be a proper storage then? I assume that the closet is not an option anymore?

If I smoke this one, any suggestions on what to watch out for? Any tips or something like that? Is it different to smoke a cigar than a cigarette, because I have honestly no knowledge about this stuff.


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## the1and0nly (Jan 28, 2016)

I would recommend doing research on tupperdores since this seems to be a short term gig for you. Bring the RH up slowly, maybe look into Boveda packets.

Btw - sticks look to be in pretty good shape considering the circumstances!


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## tomtytgat (Mar 28, 2016)

the1and0nly said:


> I would recommend doing research on tupperdores since this seems to be a short term gig for you. Bring the RH up slowly, maybe look into Boveda packets.
> 
> Btw - sticks look to be in pretty good shape considering the circumstances!


I have literally no idea what you mean

edit: nevermind, googled it.


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## the1and0nly (Jan 28, 2016)

tomtytgat said:


> I have literally no idea what you mean


I don't want to sound like an ass, but I did say I recommend doing some research.. I gave you a few keywords. Tupperdore, Boveda packs, bring up RH slowly (as a previous poster linked to bringing dry sticks back to life).

Let me google that for you


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## tomtytgat (Mar 28, 2016)

the1and0nly said:


> I don't want to sound like an ass, but I did say I recommend doing some research.. I gave you a few keywords. Tupperdore, Boveda packs, bring up RH slowly (as a previous poster linked to bringing dry sticks back to life).
> 
> Let me google that for you


As you can see, I had already editted the post and said that I googled it already. Dumb first response, I know.


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## tomp (Dec 13, 2015)

the1and0nly said:


> I don't want to sound like an ass, but I did say I recommend doing some research.. I gave you a few keywords. Tupperdore, Boveda packs, bring up RH slowly (as a previous poster linked to bringing dry sticks back to life).
> 
> Let me google that for you


I think you missed his sarcasm


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